Return your beloved
02.08.2023

Anglo-Dutch trade wars. Great wars of mankind. Ability to use elemental powers

Foreign policy of the 17th-18th centuries. characterized by the fact that the geography of international relations continues to expand. It goes beyond Europe, covers the East, includes pre-Petrine Muscovite Rus', and extends to America, Africa, and the Far East, although international relations themselves remain Eurocentric. Everything important is decided in Europe.

By the middle of the 17th century, the development of international life and diplomacy in Europe was influenced by both traditional factors that we already know, such as dynastic disputes and wars, the struggle between various dynasties, the Ottoman threat from the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the centuries-old rivalry between France and the Habsburgs , the traditional confrontation between England and Spain at sea.

New factors are also emerging, among them such as: growing rivalry between European countries for control of sea routes and primacy in world trade.

At the beginning of the 17th century, in addition to England and Spain, England and Holland began to compete for world trade, for control over maritime trade routes. Rivalry begins between countries that, in the course of bourgeois revolutions, embark on the path of accelerated development, on the path of a market capitalist economy.

The establishment of dominance in the Republic by the Dutch trading bourgeoisie occurred during a period of fierce struggle with England for maritime hegemony. The period of greatest Anglo-Dutch rapprochement, which began after the bourgeoisie in England during the revolution, turned out to be short-lived. Negotiations on concluding a military-political alliance between the two maritime powers and dividing spheres of influence were unsuccessful. The United Provinces were the most dangerous rival of the British. Taking advantage of the weaknesses of the British during the civil war, the Netherlands strengthened its position in trade. The English bourgeoisie suffered the most significant losses in the Russian and Baltic markets, where, as a result of the actions of Dutch diplomacy, the trade privileges of English merchants were abolished. The Dutch supplanted the British both in the markets of Mediterranean countries and in the colonies of Spain. Therefore, the English government advocated the most decisive policy towards the United Provinces - either a strong alliance of the two maritime powers, almost merging them into a single state, or a struggle to force the Netherlands to recognize English hegemony at sea. A significant role in this was played by the machinations of the Orangemen, who were removed from power during the period of Jan de Witt and sought to regain it with the help of the British. The efforts of French and Spanish diplomacy aimed at fomenting war between both bourgeois republics were not in vain.

The English Parliament was dissatisfied with the patronage that was provided in the United Provinces to Charles II, the son of the executed English King Charles I. The Estates General refused to hand over the prince and rejected Cromwell’s proposals to conclude an alliance between the two sea powers (the true meaning of the proposal was the voluntary submission of the Netherlands to England, and otherwise In this case, a severance of relations between the United Provinces should have followed). Then the long-standing claims of the British against the Dutch courts, which refused to salute the oncoming English ones, were renewed. In 1651, the English Parliament issued the Navigation Act. According to this act, goods imported into England were to be delivered only on English ships that were under English command, and the crew would consist of at least three-quarters English sailors.

The adoption of the Navigation Act of 1651, directed primarily against the United Provinces, and the constant attacks of English pirates on Dutch ships led to a long-overdue clash between the countries. Nevertheless, the States General of the Republic with great difficulty made the decision to declare war on England, not realizing that the country would be drawn into a deadly series of wars, which later received the name “Anglo-Dutch Wars” in historiography.

The First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-1654) began with the capture of all Dutch ships and fishing vessels in English ports. A Dutch squadron under the command of Admiral Martin Tromp went to Plymouth to rescue the detained ships. But in the battle with the British she was defeated and returned to the port of O. Texel. The Estates General removed Admiral Tromp, loyal to the Orangemen, from command of the fleet and transferred control to Admirals Michiel de Ruyter and Cornelius de Witt. However, throughout 1652, the Dutch fleet failed to win a single victory, and the Estates General was forced to re-appoint Admiral Tromp to the post of commander. During this war, naval battles were distinguished by their scale. Often over a hundred ships and tens of thousands of sailors took part in them. Despite the fact that during the military operations of 1653 the Republic was lucky, and Admiral Tromp managed to safely bring the Dutch fleet with a rich cargo to the Dutch ports, the advantage still remained on the side of the British.

The failures of the Dutch were explained, first of all, by the superiority of the English military organization and the better equipment of the navy. The war required enormous effort from the United Provinces. The basis of economic growth in the Republic was trade. But the Dutch economy's dependence on foreign trade came at a cost. The disruption of trade relations during the war led to dire consequences. Thus, the blockade of the coast of the Republic by the English fleet in the summer of 1653 almost led to financial and economic disaster.

Through the efforts of the great pensioner Jan de Witt, despite the protests of the Orangemen and a large part of the country's population, who advocated continuing the war to a victorious end, peace was concluded on April 15, 1654. The United Provinces recognized the Navigation Act of 1651 and pledged to compensate for the damage done to the English East India Company beginning in 1611. For its part, England recognized the removal from public office in the Republic of the princes of the Orange dynasty, closely related to the Sturts, and the Netherlands decided to expel the Stuarts who lived here from the country.

Cromwell died in 1658, and in 1660 Parliament proclaimed Charles II Stuart king of England. In the same year, a new Navigation Act was adopted, which infringed even more on the interests of the Republic than the Navigation Act of 1651. The British pressed the Dutch everywhere: they detained their ships off the coast of England and the Spanish Netherlands, occupied the Dutch colonies in Bad America, on the Lesser Antilles, on Cape Green in Africa.

Formally, the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665-1667) was declared at the beginning of 1665. During this war, the Dutch won more than once in major naval battles. In the summer of 1667, the Republic's fleet entered the Thames estuary several times, threatening London. The republic decided to take decisive action.

De Ruyter's campaign accelerated peace negotiations, and on July 31, 1667, a peace treaty was signed in Breda. The warring parties retained all colonies, ships and property captured during the war. England retained New Amsterdam in North America, the Netherlands - the island of Pulo Run (Moluccas). The United Provinces also received Suriname, a South American colony that began to generate good income thanks to its sugar cane plantations.

The Second Anglo-Dutch War was a turning point in the history of relations between the two maritime powers.

The Third War with England (1672-1674) was complicated by the fact that the United Provinces had to fight an entire coalition led by France. When Louis XIV occupied the Spanish Netherlands in 1667, an alliance was concluded between England, Sweden and the United Provinces, forcing France to renounce the great honor of her conquests. She was forced to return the territories of the Southern Netherlands to Spain.

In 1674, England concluded with France the second half of the 17th century. there was, first of all, a weakening of the military and economic power of the United Provinces, as well as a decrease in their role in world politics.

The Anglo-Dutch wars of the 50s - 70s, thus, accelerated the decline of the trading power of Holland. The aggravation of internal contradictions and popular uprisings, which were also to a certain extent a consequence of the wars, shook the dominance of the Dutch bourgeoisie. Mutual consideration of interests has already taken place in relations between the ruling property groups of Holland.

Historically, England had to fight for quite a long time in adjacent territories for various reasons.
The wars between England and Holland (the Netherlands) are no exception. They were based on completely understandable facts. So the Anglo-Dutch wars broke out in 1651 on the basis of maritime dominion.
This problem was briefly as follows. Both England and the Netherlands have an identical geographical location - both are washed by seas. Thus, maritime dominion is the main trump card of both countries, giving the right to establish their own laws at sea.
The reason for the outbreak of the first Anglo-Dutch War was that the English Parliament decided that imported goods should be imported into England exclusively by transportation on ships belonging to the British crown.
This meant that the trading forces of Holland were significantly weakened.
Moreover, England wanted complete dominion in the North Sea. Of course, the Dutch authorities did not like such an active political position.
Both countries, realizing that they are states that have, in principle, equal rights to own sea routes, nevertheless became involved in the conflict.
The first war began with a battle in the Pas de Calais Strait. The British were pushed back to the mouth of the Thames River, towards the city of London itself. The Dutch fleet had at its disposal ships in sufficient numbers to destroy the entire British fleet.
The British continued to defend themselves fiercely. They launched a desperate attack. This time the weather conditions were not favorable for the Dutch: the lack of wind prevented the Dutch from seizing the initiative. Moreover, the British were masters at the mouth of the Thames.
As a result of a brilliantly executed operation undertaken by the British, the Dutch fleet fled and three admirals were killed.
Thus, the Dutch Admiral de Ruyter capitulated quickly.
In parallel, there was a military campaign with another Dutch admiral, Cornelius Tromp. When the admiral moved to the rescue of his rearguard. As a result of the massive British offensive, the Dutch fleet retreated to its port of Wielingen. The result of this unsuccessful offensive operation on the part of Holland was the loss of several ships of the squadron. The British army lost slightly fewer units of floating equipment and about 2,000 people killed and wounded.
Later, both sides signed a peace treaty: now Holland was losing its colonies on the continent of North America.
The next Anglo-Dutch war was also fierce, but this time France, Sweden, and partly Germany also fought on the side of England. The Dutch could rely on the help of their following allies: Spain, another part of Germany, Denmark, and the Principality of Brandenburg.
The war began with an attack by the British at sea. France, meanwhile, attacked Holland from land, attacking Amsterdam, but they were unable to take the city thanks to its good defense and powerful fortifications.
The English fleet was now twice its original size. Together with the French ships, he had more ships than Holland had. The same Dutch general Tromp returned to the position and also commanded the most advanced Dutch troops. General Rupert found himself in a difficult situation, who was forced to fight practically alone (with a small army) against the main forces of the British and French.
General Ruiter was able to forge an encirclement ring around 20 English ships.
In this battle, the English fleet began to suffer defeat. After this, Ruyter led the ships with goods on his ships from East India.
On the diplomatic field, England decided to terminate the alliance with France, which turned out to be a weak ally in the war with Holland. The warring parties made peace. According to this treaty, humiliating for England, Holland confirmed its claim to dominion at sea. Communication with the colonies in the New World was also restored for Holland.
Although the Anglo-Dutch wars ended in the defeat of England, later she managed to defend the high and honorable status of the mistress of the sea almost peacefully: Holland itself ceased to claim this superiority.

Anglo-Dutch wars

— wars between England (from 1707 Great Britain) and the Republic of the United Provinces of the Netherlands (Holland) in 1652-1654, 1665–1667, 1672–1674, 1780–1784. The conflicts were based on the desire of powers to dominate maritime trade routes and competition in colonial expansion. In the first half of the 17th century. The United Provinces became one of the leading maritime powers of the Old World. Owning numerous trading posts on the Spice Islands (Indonesia) and displacing the Portuguese and British from there, the Dutch became the monopoly supplier of spices to Europe. English traders constantly faced Dutch competition also in the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas, off the coasts of Africa and America. The British were especially irritated by the Dutch trade hegemony in the Baltic and North Sea, where the Dutch controlled the trade in grain and ship timber.

Despite economic contradictions, Protestant Holland during the English Revolution of the 18th century. was perceived by supporters of the English parliament as a natural ally in the fight against monarchical tyranny and the papal Counter-Reformation. In April 1649, the English Republic proposed an alliance with the United Provinces. The Dutch Republicans, who represented the richest provinces in the Estates General, greeted this proposal favorably, but the Orangemen were supporters of the Stadthouder William II of Orange, a relative of the executed Charles I, opposed. William II provided patronage to the English royalists even after they killed the English envoy I. Dorislaus in his own chambers. Relations between the two republics deteriorated. On 10/09/1651, the English Parliament adopted the Navigation Act, which allowed the import of goods into England and its colonies only on domestic ships and on ships of manufacturing countries. This seriously affected the interests of Holland, which received significant income from intermediary trade and the charter of its merchant ships, and now it initiated new negotiations on concluding a military alliance, during which the parties agreed on almost all the points of the future agreement. At the same time, Dutch corsairs, operating from French ports, continued to attack on behalf of Charles II to English ships.

07/09/1652 England declared war on the United Provinces, accusing them of implementing the “Orange plan” to overthrow the English Republic and restore[. In June 1652, Blake attacked a flotilla of Dutch fishermen and their accompanying military convoy off the Orkney Islands. 07/02/1652 in the English Channel, the English squadron of Askew attacked a large trade caravan: 6 ships were captured, 3 were burned, 26 ran aground and only 7 reached the Dutch shores. In mid-August 1652, Askew's squadron attacked a Dutch trade caravan from the West Indies and the warships of Admiral M. A. Ruiter guarding it, but the attack was repulsed with considerable damage to the British. 10/28/1652 Blake, near Kent, defeated the Dutch fleet under the command of K. de Witt and Ruyter. After part of Blake's squadron was sent to the Mediterranean Sea, M. Tromp defeated Blake on 12/10/1652. In March 1653, the Dutch defeated the British off the coast of Italy. However, having assembled a fleet of 80 ships in the English Channel under the command of Blake and J. Monk, the British seized the initiative. 02/18–03/02/1653 near Portland they significantly battered Tromp and Ruyter, capturing more than 10 merchant ships from the caravan they were guarding. In June 1653 Blake defeated Tromp and C. de Witt off the Suffolk coast. In the summer of 1653, Monk blocked the Dutch ports from the sea. In August 1653, the Dutch fleet tried to break the blockade at Scheveningen, but was defeated. Tromp died in battle. This defeat strengthened the position of the Republicans led by J. de Witt, who managed to agree with O. Cromwell acceptable peace terms. At the Peace of Westminster 1654, the United Provinces recognized the articles of the Navigation Act of 1651 and pledged to limit the power of the House of Orange.

A.-g. V. 1665–1667 began with the seizure by the British of the trading posts and colonies of Holland in the West. Africa and North America. After the Dutch regained what they had lost by force, England declared war (March 1665). At the Battle of Lowestoft (June 1665), the British destroyed 17 enemy ships, but the Dutch managed to save the bulk of the fleet. In August 1665, the British tried to capture a caravan of the Dutch East India Company with spices in the Danish port of Bergen, but their attack was repelled by the fire of coastal batteries. In 1666, France (January) and Denmark (February) entered the war on the side of the United Provinces. At the end of May - beginning of June 1666, the Dutch squadron under the command of Ruyter and K. Tromp won a four-day battle in the English Channel, destroying 20 English ships. However, in August 1666, the English admiral R. Holmes made a successful raid on Terschelling Island, where he burned about 130 Dutch ships with goods. In 1667, due to financial difficulties, the English fleet was unable to go to sea, which Ruyter took advantage of: in February, he led his squadron up the Thames to the Chatham shipyard, where he burned many enemy ships. After this, the British asked for peace, which was signed in Breda on July 31, 1667. The United provinces received the right to import German goods to England, regained Suriname, which they had previously lost, but were forced to abandon their North American colony of New Amsterdam.

A.-g. V. 1672–1674 England led a coalition with France. In 1668, England, the United Provinces and Sweden concluded the anti-French Triple Alliance, but behind the backs of the allies, Charles II signed a secret treaty with France, pledging to support it at sea against Holland. In 1672, England (March 28) and France (April 6) declared war on the Republic of the United Provinces. On land the French were successful, but at sea the Dutch were successful. Admiral Ruyter's squadron defeated the Anglo-French fleet at Solebey (June 1672), Schoneveld (June 1673) and Texel (July 1673). The unsuccessful course of military operations and the growth of opposition sentiments within the country forced Charles II to conclude a separate Peace of Westminster on February 19, 1674, which repeated the conditions of the Peace of Breda in 1667.

The reason for A.-g. V. 1780–1784 became the position of Holland during the War of Independence of England's North American Colonies. Dutch shipowners and merchants, taking advantage of the neutral position of their country, supplied weapons and ammunition to the rebel Americans. After the English fleet received orders to detain all Dutch ships heading to America, confiscate their cargo and detain their crews, the United Provinces joined the League of Neutral Powers. 12/31/1780 Great Britain declared war on Holland - 08/05/1781 the Dutch squadron in the North Sea defeated the English fleet, but some time later it managed to completely block the Dutch ports from the sea. In February 1781, the British captured the island of St. Eustatius, through which the main Dutch supplies to the North passed. America, and then almost all Dutch trading posts in Africa. The war ended with the signing of the Peace of Paris of 1784, according to which Great Britain received Negapatam in India and the right to freely trade in Indonesia.

Shatokhina-Mordvintseva G. A. Foreign policy of the Netherlands. 1713-1763. M., 1998; Hainsworth R. and Churches Ch. The Anglo-Dutch Naval Wars 1652–1674. Stroud, 1998; Pincus S.C.A. Protestantism and Patriotism; Ideologies and the Making of the English Foreign Policy, 1650–1658. Cambridge, 1994; Wilson C. Profit and Power: A Study of England and Dutch Wars. L., 1957. S. V. Kondratiev.

Anglo-Dutch wars of the 17th century

were caused by trade and colonial rivalry between the two economically most developed states of the 17th century. - the bourgeois republic of the United Provinces (Dutch Republic), which occupied a dominant position in intermediary maritime trade and in international colonial expansion of the 1st half of the 17th century, and England, whose bourgeoisie, with the victory of the revolution (see English bourgeois revolution of the 17th century), embarked on the path active struggle with its main trade and colonial rival. The interests of both countries collided in the South-East. Asia, America, Africa, on the European (in particular, Russian) market.

First A. - g.v. (1652-54) was declared the Dutch Republic in response to the adoption by the English Parliament of the Navigation Act (See Navigation Acts) of 1651, directed against Dutch intermediary trade. Military operations took place not only in the sea waters surrounding England and Holland, but also in the Mediterranean Sea, in the straits connecting the Baltic and North Seas, and in the Indian Ocean. Naval battles (the largest - the Battle of Plymouth in 1652, the Battles of Newport in 1652 and 1653, the Battle of Portland in 1653) were fought with varying degrees of success. Gradually, the preponderance of forces leaned towards England, which had a strong navy and established a blockade of the Dutch coast. The actions of the British on trade routes caused great damage to Holland. According to the Treaty of Westminster (April 14, 1654), Holland had to actually come to terms with the Navigation Act.

Second A.-g. V. (1665-67) was declared by Holland in January 1665, but actually began back in 1664 with the capture of the Dutch colony in North America - New Amsterdam - by an English naval expedition. The Dutch fleet under the command of Admiral Reuter won a victory at Dunkirk (June 1666), but was defeated at Cape North Foreland (August 1666).

In June 1667, a Dutch squadron blocked the mouth of the Thames. By peace in Breda (July 31, 1667), New Amsterdam passed to England, which returned Suriname, which it had captured during the war, to the Dutch. , Third A.-g. V. (1672-74) is closely intertwined with the so-called. Dutch War 1672 - 78 (See Dutch War 1672-78)

A.-g. century, which were carried out mainly at sea, played a significant role in the development of fleets and naval art. Based on their experience, a new classification of ships was developed (dividing them into battleships, frigates, etc.), a permanent organization of fleets was created, which began to be divided into squadrons, and the latter into the so-called. divisions (vanguard, center and rearguard). The tactics of naval combat have also changed significantly. For the 1st A.-g. V. characterized by the absence of definite battle formations: the battle began with an artillery firefight and turned into single combat between individual ships, in which the outcome was decided by artillery fire and boarding , The use of Brander ov was of some importance. In the 2nd and especially the 3rd A.-G. V. The main battle formation was the wake column, and the basis of combat was artillery fire, although boarding and fireboat attacks continue to retain some importance.

Lit.: English bourgeois revolution of the 17th century, vol. 1 (p. 457-467), vol. 2 (p. 47-51, 133-136), M., 1954; Ballhausen S., Die drei Englisch-Hollandische Seekriege, Haag, 1923.

A. S. Samoilo.

Great Soviet Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .

See what "Anglo-Dutch wars of the 17th century" are in other dictionaries:

    The ANGLO-DUTCH WARS of the 17th century were caused by trade and colonial rivalry between the two most developed states of England and Holland in the 17th century. In the first half of the 17th century, the Republic of the United Provinces (see REPUBLIC OF THE UNITED PROVINCES) ... encyclopedic Dictionary

    Anglo-Dutch Wars First - Second - Third - Fourth Anglo-Dutch Wars a series of wars between England (Great Britain) and the Netherlands in the 17th - 18th centuries, in which naval hegemony and colonial power were contested... ... Wikipedia

    The Anglo-Dutch wars of the 17th century were caused by trade and colonial rivalry between the two most economically developed states of the 17th century. ‒ the bourgeois republic of the United Provinces (Dutch Republic), which occupied a dominant position... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Not a single series of wars in the history of mankind has done as much for the development of the fleet as the confrontation between England and the Netherlands in the second half of the 17th century. It was during three severe armed clashes between two states - contenders for maritime dominance in the world - that the fleet was divided into military and civilian, and the sailing fleet finally took its rightful place in the structures of maritime states. And although the rowing fleet was not completely supplanted and remained in the Baltic and Mediterranean states for another century and a half, the sailing ship now became the sole owner of the ocean.

Economics is the cause of wars

Not having time to win the anti-Spanish war for independence, combined with the bourgeois revolution (1555-1609), the Netherlands began active colonization. The pearl in the Dutch necklace of colonies was the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia), the capture of which began in 1596. This was largely facilitated by the emerging rather powerful navy of the country, created from numerous detachments of sea troops.

But the Dutch fishing and merchant fleet turned out to be much more numerous. If the first practically did not go beyond the North Sea and consisted mainly of, then the second by the middle of the 17th century. turned out to be a practically monopoly global sea carrier. A huge number of Dutch coggs, carracks, galleons and other lesser-known varieties of Dutch transport sailing ships sailed almost all the world's seas and oceans, carrying out various trade and transit operations.

Somewhat later, in 1640, the bourgeois revolution began in England. Four decades later, she brought to power very ambitious politicians who did not want to put up with the Netherlands' monopoly on world maritime trade. Moreover, despite the revolutionary upheavals, England retained a fairly powerful navy, which already consisted of full-fledged military sailing ships. And numerous merchant sailing ships also carried artillery systems on board, and if necessary, even without rearmament, they could be placed in battle formations. And if so, then the challenge to the Dutch maritime trade monopoly was thrown on November 15, 1651.

Prohibited monopoly

On that day, the English Parliament adopted the so-called Navigation Act. Its essence was that goods could be delivered to Foggy Albion and all British colonies either on English ships (although there were not many ships suitable for such transportation) or on ships producing countries. But here’s the paradox: practically all of these countries did not have their own merchant fleet for such massive transportation.

The proud rulers and inhabitants of the country that they themselves created (remember the famous proverb “God created the Earth, and the Dutch - Holland!”), who by that time had learned to successfully beat the Spanish fleet, did not hesitate to accept English call.


However, now they had to fight in extremely unfavorable conditions, because any ship or ship going to the Netherlands from the colonies had to pass by the English coast either from the east (through the English Channel) or from the west, through the Irish sea. The first route was shorter, but ran past the main English naval bases, but the second direction extended the route home for the Dutch ships.

As a result, the Dutch sailors, tired after many months of sailing through the stormy waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans, simply could not help but encounter the fresh forces of the English navy, which had only left their own ports a few hours or days earlier. It was impossible to ignore the English threat - with such a passive position one could lose, and very quickly, the colonial empire, and therefore the status of a great power. And the Netherlands decided to fight.

Fleets of amateurs and ships for a variety of tasks

The whole paradox of the situation at the beginning of the Anglo-Dutch wars was precisely that England, whose Parliament adopted the navigation act offensive to the Netherlands and thereby provoked a war, was itself not ready for it. First of all, because since 1640, a revolution was raging in the country and two civil wars thundered one after another. The fleet did not take much part in these events; at that turbulent time, simply no one was involved in it. Theoretically, England had good warships (one famous “Lord of the Seas” was worth it), but their crews were poorly trained, and there was no need to talk about the command staff.

All English admirals supported royal power and were either executed or died on the fronts of the civil wars. Those who emigrated (mainly to France) naturally did not want to return home.

Confrontation with the Netherlands

Moreover, it was during the struggle with King Charles I that the most powerful army at that time was created in England, led by brave and talented generals. And therefore, in the absence of other personnel, it was precisely these generals that Parliament entrusted with a responsible mission - the confrontation with the Netherlands on the seas, conferring the exotic military ranks of generals of the sea.


Things were no better in the Netherlands. And although the country has not actually emerged from various wars for a century, be it with the former metropolis Spain or with some exotic native tribes, what is commonly called the navy with all its inherent attributes, she didn't have it. But there was a huge number of sailors and a huge trading and fishing fleet. The latter alone numbered over 15,000 different sailing ships, but, unfortunately, most of them were small varieties of holks - beads with a displacement of 80-100 tons with crews of 20 people.

But the Netherlands had a developed shipbuilding industry, a whole cohort of talented shipbuilders and, as subsequent events showed, outstanding admirals.


In general, both fleets were not ready for war, although by the beginning they already had a clear organizational structure. True, this is not the merit of a particular naval commander, but the result of a coincidence of circumstances. The fact is that the entire English navy could not be placed in one base, and therefore it was divided into three parts: the white, red and blue squadrons. The situation was similar with the fleet in the Netherlands. Only here the ports were located very close to each other, and warships were forced to share their berths with numerous “merchants” and “fishermen”. Therefore, the Dutch fleet was divided into even smaller formations than squadrons - divisions. Soon the British adopted this practice.

Ranks and flags

It was during the Anglo-Dutch wars that a coherent system of naval military ranks and flags was formed. Thus, the commander of the fleet was the admiral of the fleet. Initially, this title belonged to the head of state, so the English squadrons were commanded by an admiral, and the Dutch squadrons by a lieutenant admiral, that is, a deputy commander. The admiral's squadron or his division in the squadron always flew a red flag and was located in the center.


The forward division - the vanguard, flying the white flag, was commanded by the vice admiral, and the rear division or squadron, flying the blue flag, was commanded by the rear admiral. The ships were commanded by captains. True, it soon became clear that often the captain also needs to lead a small detachment of ships to complete a task that has just appeared. This detachment was numerically smaller than the division, and therefore even the youngest, the rear admiral, was not prestigious to lead such an insignificant combat group. But each ship in the group was commanded by a captain, and therefore he was in an equal position with the appointed commander. To highlight a captain who had already outgrown his rank, but had not yet reached the rank of admiral, an intermediate rank was introduced. In Britain it was called commander, and in the Netherlands - schaubenacht, which translated meant “watcher in the night.”

You might be interested:

Subsequently, in the Netherlands, the number of Schaubenachts who never rose to the rank of rear admirals began to greatly exceed the number of the latter. And they were appointed and appointed, because the tasks of the fleet were constantly becoming more complicated. Without further ado, the Dutch simply renamed the rear admiral rank to Schaubenacht and introduced the rank of “commander” taken from the English tradition. Moreover, each official was assigned a special naval flag.

Each warship raised a pennant as it sailed. This means the ship is on campaign. At the base, a special flag was raised on the front flagpole - a guy. It still means that a warship is an impregnable fortress.

Enemy forces

So, both fleets were not quite ready for the battles of the first Anglo-Dutch War (1652-1654). However, both the British and the Dutch highly assessed their chances of success. The advantage of the British was considered to be their better combat training and superiority in artillery, as well as the proximity of their own bases. The Dutch counted on the large size of their merchant fleet, which could be quickly armed, and on the professionalism of their sailors and admirals. But the Dutch also had special weapons - fire ships and frigates. The first to go were any ships that you didn’t mind. They were filled with flammable and explosive substances and tried to be sent to the enemy ship for the purpose of arson.

But the frigate, a warship that will have a long and wonderful life in 100 years, appeared in the Dutch navy completely by accident.

In numerous expeditions, Dutch commanders noticed that some of the ships in their squadrons were much faster than all the others. They decided to take advantage of this advantage by entrusting them with the functions of communications, reconnaissance and capturing prizes - this is how the enemy merchant sailing ships that fell into the hands of military sailors were then called. For the British, the last of these functions were traditionally performed by numerous privateers, on whom the English leadership had high hopes.

Mighty winds

The wind is everything for a sailing ship, so the ability to use it for sailing admirals, commanders and ordinary sailors (all of whom are commonly called sailors) is a vital necessity. Of course, there are different winds (we have already talked about this many times), but the main thing is where and how the wind blows. It is on this basis that the sailboat’s course relative to the wind is built.

Since the Middle Ages, sailors have divided the angular space around the ship into heading angles - bearings. There are 32 of them in total. However, the ship is a geometrically correct design, and therefore the wind can blow from the right or left side. Accordingly, the movement of the ship in one direction or another is called a tack.

A ship cannot sail against the wind. An adverse heavy wind not only literally stops a sailboat, but can also lead to the destruction of its mast structure. Therefore, in order to move, the ship is forced to turn either right or left, that is, move alternately on the right and left tacks. Of course, the speed in this case is low, the sailing ship still moves forward. A tailwind blowing into the sails from behind - a forward wind allows theoretically to develop the fullest speed. However, in practice, due to strong winds, the bow of the ship sinks deeper into the water than necessary and some braking occurs. Therefore, the backstay is much more favorable, that is, the position when the wind blows from the rear. In this case, the sails develop maximum thrust, the hull sits normally in the water and the ship moves at the maximum possible speed.

And finally, a course in half the wind - gulfwind and wind blowing from the front and side - braidwind are also favorable, but at the same time difficult for the movement of a sailing ship.

Progress of the war

The first battle of the Anglo-Dutch wars took place on May 19, 1652 near Dover. Here the Dutch squadron, consisting of 42 warships, waited for its East India caravan and met with two English squadrons of 9 and 8 ships, respectively. The English general of the sea Robert Blake behaved defiantly.

Knowing that the British fleet of 60 warships was ready at any moment to come to the rescue from the mouth of the Thames, he demanded that the Dutch Lieutenant Admiral Martin Tromp salute the English flag - after all, the meeting took place off the British coast. Tromp didn't react.

When the British flagship fired three warning shots, Tromp's ships responded with broadsides. A battle began, no different from what the world had seen before: haphazard maneuvering of individual ships and useless firing at the enemy. The Dutch tried to use fire ships, but for various reasons lost two of them, without causing any damage to the British. With the onset of darkness, the fleets dispersed without much regret, since the battle, strictly speaking, was fought for the honor of the flag.

Hunt for the Admiral

Having made his conclusions, Blake began to attack Dutch fishermen fishing in the North Sea with entire squadrons. Tromp, adding another 54 mobilized “merchants” to his 32 ships and 6 fire-ships, began to hunt for the Englishman, but a severe storm that broke out on August 5, 1652, destroyed 53 of his 92 ships. The talented admiral was removed from his post, and the Dutch fleet was headed by Witte de Witt and Michael de Ruyter. And already on August 16 they tried to take revenge on Pas-de-Calais.

With 30 warships, they set out to meet a caravan of 60 merchant ships, whose path was blocked by George Askew's English squadron of 52 warships. J. Askew tried to attack the Dutch from the windward side, breaking through their formation, but as a result of this theoretically correct, but practically unsuccessful maneuver, he allowed his enemy to be in the wind and thereby win the battle.

This battle can be considered the first naval battle of the classical sailing era, where the main player was the wind. It was control of the wind, that is, such a maneuver that would allow the squadron to remain on the windward side, that became the most important task of the admirals who led sailing ships into battle.


The Battle of Scheveningen was the final battle of the first Anglo-Dutch War, which took place on August 10, 1653.

This rule was confirmed already on December 10, 1652, when Tromp unexpectedly forced Blake's squadron, standing at the entrance to the Thames, to take battle. The wind from the coast did not allow the British to hide in their bases, and the advantageous position of Tromp's ships on the windward side provided them with an advantage in maneuver and speed.

By this time, the Dutch realized that the squadrons should be equipped exclusively with specially built warships, the power of which was approximately equal. The British, lacking a large navy, continued to arm merchant sailing ships, which varied sharply both in the number of guns they carried and in their propulsion and maneuverability.

Ability to use elemental powers

However, this did not prevent the British from eventually winning this first war, and the battle of Scheveningen on August 10, 1653 put a bold end to it. Here the British already actively used the wind to their advantage, having learned, unlike the Dutch, actively maneuver in any direction. And although this battle on the part of the British, as before, was distinguished at first glance by the absence of any system, it once and for all made the wind an ally of the admirals. It is also noteworthy that the three Dutch squadrons in this battle moved all the time using a tailwind - that is, they developed the maximum possible speed.


Battle of Texel Island August 21, 1673

The British not only dared to engage their formidable enemy in battle, but also, breaking the unified formation and actively maneuvering, several times cut through the enemy’s formation, placing his ships in double fire. These maneuvers showed the sharply increased maritime skills of the English sailors and brought them a convincing victory. Having lost only 2 ships out of 120, they sank 14 Dutch ships out of a hundred in their fleet. Moreover, with artillery fire the British repelled 4 attacks by Dutch fire ships and killed their outstanding commander, Martin Tromp. True, Robert Blake did not survive his opponent for long: three weeks later he died on the shore.

The Birth of Linear Tactics

The battles of the first Anglo-Dutch War revealed all the inherent shortcomings of young military sailing fleets. From this, the Dutch drew the main conclusion: all trade caravans must henceforth be accompanied by strong combat squadrons. At the same time, the other squadrons most prepared for combat, consisting exclusively of specially built warships, must not just meet caravans arriving from the colonies to the metropolis, but actively attack enemy squadrons, their bases and shipyards.

The British made similar conclusions and, like the Dutch, began building a large military fleet. The initiator of its creation was General of the Sea John Monck, who is often credited with victory in the Battle of Scheveningen.

It was Monk who achieved the decision of Parliament on targeted and permanent state funding for the construction of the navy (this decision abolished the notorious ship duty, which could not finance the construction of a massive navy). He transferred to the British, but soon became world-famous as the Royal Navy, the principles by which the new revolutionary army of Parliament was built.

The main one was this: the ship as a combat organism must constantly be kept clean and tidy, as well as the sailors, whose personal hygiene was now the subject of special concern for the commanders.

Specialized combat ships

The Dutch admirals made the same decision. It became clear that the power of the artillery of warships moving in a single formation and clearly performing the flagship’s maneuvers, multiplied by their number, is the key to victory in future battles. This became the basis for the linear tactics that dominated the seas for the next two centuries. It was for linear tactics that they began to build warships with a significant number of guns in several onboard batteries.

It was these ships that became the basis of the power of the military fleets of all maritime powers and received the name linear. The era when hastily armed merchant ships operated in a single formation with specially built warships is once and for all a thing of the past.

All these conclusions were confirmed during the battles of the Second Anglo-Dutch War of 1665-1667. And they finally gained a foothold in the decisive battles of the Third Anglo-Dutch War of 1671-1673. Thus, in the famous Four-Day Battle on June 1-4, 1666, both fleets (Dutch - 101 warships under the command of Michael de Ruyter and English - 109 warships under the command of Prince Rupert and General John Monk) fought with exceptional ferocity and, in spite of everything, they maintained a clear battle formation and conducted active artillery fire at the enemy from various distances.

Classics of naval art

The commanders of both fleets constantly sought to position themselves on the leeward side, which is why the battles were fought on constant counter courses. It was in this battle that the outstanding Dutch admiral M. de Ruyter first used a maneuver that became a classic of naval art - enveloping the head, that is, the enemy’s flagship. At the same time, this battle proved that the strength and wisdom of using fire ships in combination with the power of artillery in battle is much more important than boarding, and also that ammunition should be managed wisely.

This time it was the British who had little intelligence, who, using their superiority in rate of fire, at the most decisive moment of the battle were left without shells and were unable to repel the attack of the Dutch fire ships.

In addition, the relatively high survivability of wooden military sailing ships, which were practically impossible to sink with the artillery of that time, was confirmed. At the same time, damaged and practically incapacitated combat units create a big problem both for their crews and for the command of the fleet as a whole.

However, despite the fact that this battle ended in favor of the Netherlands, whose fleet lost 6 ships, but burned and captured 20 English ones, forcing the squadrons of Monk and Rupert to take refuge in the bases, it was not this battle that ended the Second Anglo-Dutch War . In the summer of 1667, de Ruyter undertook a bold raid to the English shores, where in two months he destroyed and burned almost all English bases on the south-eastern coast of the island of Britain, blocked the Thames and forced the British to sign a peace beneficial to the Netherlands.

True, the British, although with great difficulty, still won the Third Anglo-Dutch War. However, it was not their strategic victory that entered the annals of history, but de Ruyter’s last success - the famous 14th battle of the Anglo-Dutch Wars, which took place at the end of July 1673 near the island of Texel in the North Sea.

Hard won

Then the Dutch fleet of 75 ships, led by Admiral de Ruyter, met with the combined Anglo-French fleet under the command of Admiral Prince Rupert of 95 ships (30 French and 65 English).

At first glance, the balance of forces was not in favor of the Netherlands, but M. de Ruyter thought otherwise. Based on the experience of the previous battle at Solbay (June 7, 1672), he knew the very low fighting qualities of the French sailors (their finest hour was yet to come), their passivity during the battles, and therefore decided to immediately remove the French vanguard from the battle using your artillery.


And so it happened: the Dutch vanguard of Vice Admiral Bankerst, consisting of 10 ships, with a decisive artillery attack, brought the French squadron out of the battle. And although the French received relatively light damage and were quite capable of continuing the battle, their crews preferred to do repairs.

What happened next, as they say, was a matter of technique: the successful maneuvering of the Dutch vanguard helped de Ruyter put the English vanguard in two fires, and forced the French rearguard to leave, since the Dutch ships entered the gaps between the French ones (the Dutch fired from their side guns on the bow and stern of the French ships). At the same time, the Dutch did not retreat one step from the now classic linear tactics, which brought them victory.

But an additional factor, among others, that determined de Ruyter’s victory was the active use, for the first time in the history of wars, of operational communications between ships of the Dutch squadrons. It was provided by very small sailing ships - advice notes (translated from French - “I notify”). It was these nimble one- and two-masted ships that quickly moved throughout the entire waters of the battle, transmitting the orders of the famous Dutch admiral to his subordinates.

What about the French?

The decisive victory of the Netherlands in the Battle of Texel split the Anglo-French coalition, which helped de Reuter prevent the English landing on the Dutch coast. But at the same time, it clearly demonstrated all the shortcomings of the military fleet of the French kingdom, which, by order of the famous French king Louis XIV, was created with incredible speed under the direct leadership of the outstanding political and economic figure of the kingdom, Jean Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683). gg.).

When this man became Minister of the Navy in 1661, the French fleet consisted of only 9 ships, 3 frigates and 8 galleys, and their technical condition was very deplorable. Using the instructions of his king, the energetic minister, despite the modest capabilities of the then French economy, launched the largest shipbuilding program in Europe at that time. As a result, the French fleet began to grow rapidly: by 1666 it consisted of 71 ships, and by 1671 - already 196. By 1683 - the year of Colbert's death - the French navy consisted of 112 battleships, 25 frigates and 80 galleys.

Together with various warships of other classes, the French fleet numbered 276 units - 72 more than England. At the same time, two squadrons - the Mediterranean (FloMed) and the Atlantic (FloAnt), the names of which remain to this day, were equipped with ships of different ideology.

If in the Mediterranean Sea the French massively used galleys and light sailing ships of the type, then in the Atlantic (mainly in the North Sea) they used exclusively sailing multi-gun ships. Their design embodied many advanced solutions, especially in the field of hull strength, which became not only the hallmark of the French shipbuilding school, but also its main secret for a long century and a half.

But it was not possible to raise the training of French sailors to the proper level, which was confirmed by the Third Anglo-Dutch War. However, a beginning had been made: France gradually took second place in the world in terms of the pace of construction and increase in the power of the naval sailing fleet.

Random articles

Back Forward Attention! Slide previews are for informational purposes only...